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Unlike the first ti beside him, her features smooth rather than bathed in worry as she looked down, her hair caught up and glea, her clothes neat and tidy And she utterly took his breath away

He s h his ared to reach up and pinch the ends of her hair She gasped in surprise and ain Those eyesa suardens

"You’re awake" She leaned over hione"

The position pressed her body against his, delighting hi the contact, annoying hih quality to his voice He took stock He was naked, a sheet draped over his ain, he’d lost three days to his father He re when the Sent Ones arrived, but not being able to flash away Had the ability returned? He wanted to try, but didn’t want to leave Nicola More than that, he kneould be better to wait until he was stronger If he failed right now, just because he eak and hadn’t fully fought off the poison, he would waste precious tiet, Axel toldcare of your dirty little secret in the backyard"

His

"I wanted to stay as close to your side as possible and haven’t yet investigated the yard--which I totally plan to do, I won’t lie about that So you ht as well fess up and tell me what your dirty little secret is," she said

He’d wanted her to know Justnot right now He’d tell her when he was stronger "Nothing that concerns you," he croaked

"You don’t trust me?" A wealth of hurt in her tone

"I trust youto do with the other" To distract her, he said, "What have you been doing all this ti care of you, entertaining your friends Staying caluess what? Deep down, I knew you would heal Just like er, too Isn’t that wonderful?"

"Wonderful," he parroted If she was better

She set his hand back at his side, reached toward the nightstand and lifted a cup of water "You talked in your sleep, you know"

He tensed, saying, "About what?"

A gleam of sadness in her eyes as she quietly said, "About a s and a father who tossed you into a pit of snakes You’d told ined how bad" She placed the straw at his lips "Drink"

He obeyed He didn’t knohat else to do His sto the cool, sweet liquid trickling down his throat Perhaps noas the time to tell her about hisabout ested "That e’ll be even"

Perhaps not He nodded, intrigued, hungry for more inforo, my mother, father and little brother were killed by a drunk driver"

He’d known that, but hearing the pain in her smoke-and-dreams voice affected him deeply

"Robby wasn’t supposed to be with them that day He was supposed to stay with o out with friends, and I wanted to tag along to et sick, so we convinced our parents to take him on their dinner date"

"You couldn’t have known" But she blaht, and it was a heavy burden to carry One he wished he could lift from her shoulders But he couldn’t Only she could And if she didn’t, if she failed, the weight would eventually crush her

That, he knew firsthand

"That’s just it I did Deep down, like with you, I had a feeling I knew I should keep him with me And I think Laila knew it, too That’s why she’s like she is, so determined to live in the now and not look back She doesn’t want to remember our part in Robby’s death"

"And neither do you"

"I know For years we tried to pretend he never existed It was easier, I think But it was also a disservice to hiht be why Koldo had found no record of Robby in the heavenly archives What you denied down here, you lost up there

"You ive yourself Isn’t that what you told th returning bit by bit, and cupped the back of her neck He applied pressure, tugging her toward him, but for the first time in their relationship, she resisted

"I know you didn’t irl," she said "Axel told uy you’d have her, and you never lie"

Was she jealous? He kind of hoped so He actually liked the idea "You’re right about my words I said I would have her He assu about you"

Her eyes widened "You want tomarry me?"

Did he? No No, he couldn’t He was tainted, he re one"

"Oh," she said, her shoulders drooping

He pulled her the rest of the way against hi the hollow of his neck, just the way she liked "You’re disappointed?" Why? And as he happy about her reaction? Did he want her to want s worked out"